"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." 1 John 3:2-3
The best is yet to be! We anticipate Christ's return and the transformation of our lives to be like His. This anticipation creates in us a longing that motivates growth in purity now.
Or do we actually think little of His coming and dread the thought of this present life passing away? I'm afraid that too often the thought of Christ's coming is far removed from our lives and has little impact on our present living. We love this life too much and are, therefore, unable to fully embrace the life to come. Yet that is like holding so tightly to a fistful of pennies that we are unable to receive a billion dollars.
May our longing for Christ increase so that the transformation of our lives accelerates and the joy of heaven infuses us with anticipation.
Father, I am too much preoccupied with the things of this world. Lift my eyes up to behold Christ and fill my heart with fresh longing for His presence now and in eternity. Purify me so that I may glorify Him in this world as I await the next world.
I'm praying for you.
Pastor Mark
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Good Morning Pastor Mark, A friend and I was just talking about how we sometimes focus on the fearful things that are happening in our world and not on the fact that these are signs pointing to the soon return of Jesus Christ. In Luke 21:26-33 Jesus warns of the things that must come to pass before He returns. Then He said, "But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near." I pray that we all will look up and not around and our excitement and anticipation of Christ return will grow.
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